As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Monday 22 April 2019

Cyclone Trevor throws migration flight of Far Eastern curlew into disarray


Updated 10 Apr 2019, 5:51am
One endangered bird's northern migration has unravelled into a cross-country journey of confusion, loneliness and cyclonic winds.
Rup is a Far Eastern curlew, a migratory shorebird that makes an enormous annual journey from Australia to breeding grounds in northern China and Siberia.
Unlike the prolific bush stone curlew — known for their shrill, eerie calls — the Far Eastern curlew is critically endangered.
A local conservation project tracking the birds shows Rup's travel through Victoria, Central Australia and into the western Top End.
What happened next, according to migratory shorebird researcher Amanda Lilleyman, was a matter of unfortunate timing.
"Its two fellow flock members left Victoria just a few days beforehand, so it was maybe a bit late to leave," Ms Lilleyman said.
Instead of continuing north, tracking data shows Rup zig-zagged through the Gulf of Carpentaria as it encountered Cyclone Trevor, whose category-four winds reached 250kph.
"It got caught up in this cyclone and it's just terrible news, because it probably spent a lot of energy flying through this cyclone."
After taking a brief break in Karumba, the bird landed in Townsville, where it meandered between a salt marsh and local beach.


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